I’m sure all of you baseball fans know who Tim Hudson is; and for those of you who don’t he is the star pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. An ankle fracture seems weird for a pitcher; most of us would expect a hand, arm or shoulder injury for them. But as Hudson was covering first base the runner stepped on the back of his right leg, resulting in the fracture which will end the season for him.

There are three bones that make up the ankle joint, the two leg bones, tibia and fibula, and another bone called the talus. Ankle fractures can result from many different things, in Hudson’s case it was by getting stepped on the back of his foot. A break in any of these three bones around the ankle joint is considered an ankle fracture. The severity of the fracture depends on the number of breaks in each bone. The least severe injuries are a break in one, whereas the most severe injuries are multiple breaks in multiple bones. Some common ways ankles are fractured are by weird, forced twisting movements, rolling your ankle, or falling and landing on it in a strange position.

The common signs of a fracture are immediate extreme pain, immediate swelling and bruising in the area, no weight can be placed on the foot and very tender to touch. Hudson went to go see a doctor right away to get his ankle treated; if you ever experience any of these symptoms it is important to go see your local podiatrist at Affiliated Foot and Ankle Care located in Edison and Monroe NJ right away! Your podiatrist will take x-rays to determine how exactly the ankle has been fractured and how to go about surgery. A majority of ankle fractures will require surgery to fix, with casting and physical therapy after to restore normal function.